Warning: William Hague branded the unrest in Egypt 'the greatest crisis of the 21st century'

William Hague has warned that the turmoil in Egypt could continue for ‘decades’ as it emerged that the former dictator Hosni Mubarak is soon to be freed.

The Foreign Secretary branded the situation in Cairo ‘very bleak’ and said the drift towards civil war in the most populous Arab nation is the greatest crisis of the 21st century.

Violence flared again yesterday with details of two new atrocities emerging. At least 24 policemen loyal to the military regime were gunned down execution-style by Islamist militants in the Sinai desert.

And 36 Islamist prisoners suffocated when teargas was fired into their van as they were being moved out of the capital in a convoy. The Muslim Brotherhood described the incident as ‘murder’ while the authorities said a jailbreak had been thwarted

Further violence is likely when the disgraced dictator is to be released from prison by the military regime, which ousted the Islamist government of Mohammad Morsi elected in 2011.

Mubarak, who ruled Egypt from 1981, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to stop the killing of protesters in the revolt that swept him from power two years ago.

But it was revealed yesterday that he has been cleared and is set for release – a move that could lead to greater bloodshed.

At least 850 people, including 70 policemen and soldiers, have been killed since the army-backed government forcibly dispersed Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo on Wednesday.

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Mr Hague told the BBC yesterday: ‘It is a very bleak situation, it’s hard to overstate the levels of hatred and mistrust between the various sides of politics in Egypt so it’s a very, very difficult situation.

‘There may be years of turbulence in Egypt and other countries going through this profound debate about the nature of democracy and the role of religion in their society.

‘What’s happening now in the Middle East is the most important event so far of the 21st century, even compared to the financial crisis we’ve been through in terms of its impact on world affairs and I think it will take years and maybe decades for it to play out.’

Release: Hosni Mubarak, pictured in court earlier this year, is set to be freed from prison this week

Chaos: The violence in Egypt continued today as 24 policemen were killed in Sinai

Clashes: Hundreds have been killed since Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi was deposed

The Foreign Secretary said he would discuss with his EU counterparts whether to withdraw aid from Egypt. to apply pressure on Cairo’s army-backed government to end violence and find a political compromise.

Egypt’s ambassador to Britain claimed last night that the military-led offensive on the Muslim Brotherhood was intended to be no different from the British response to the 2011 London riots, but turned bloody when the Muslim Brotherhood started firing on the security forces.

But he claimed that the Islamists had to be destroyed, claiming they used their time in charge to try to take over every aspect of Egyptian society, just as Adolf Hitler’s Nazis did in Germany.

Ashraf ElKholy said: ‘Morsi was elected president and held office for one year but in that time he tried to make everything Muslim Brotherhood controlled.

‘Egyptian culture over 5,000 years is a mix of religions and civilisations in which the Islamic religion is one ingredient of the Egyptian character,’ he said. ‘The Muslim Brotherhood are like a Nazi group that demand that everything changes and people everything to their way.’

Fury: Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood supporters walk towards Ramses square in Cairo as they take part in a 'march of anger'. Violent clashes have already left 17 people dead

Hurt: Protesters who support the ousted Egyptian President transport injured people following the clashes in Ramses Square